By Susan Loone
May 7, 2011
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has expressed outrage over a front-page report today headlined ‘Malaysia Negara Kristian?’ (Malaysia a Christian state?) in Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia.
Lim turned his guns on the Malay daily for the false report which was based on a couple of pro-Umno blogs and accused Utusan of planning to “set 1Malaysia on fire” by playing up racial and religious sentiments.
According to Lim, the newspaper was playing a dangerous game by front-paging an article without verifying the allegations featured in anonymous blogs such as Bigdog.com and Marahku.com.
“Utusan wants to set 1Malaysia on fire… it is the most evil (jahat) and dangerous element in our country right now,” decried an angry Lim at a press conference in Penang today.
“I have asked my party leaders to lodge a police report on the matter. How can a lie be on the front page of a newspaper?”
Lim, who is DAP secretary general, was responding to the blog postings accusing the party the party of alleged alleging sedition for colluding with Christian pastors to make Christianity the country’s official religion so that a Christian can become prime minister.
Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was named in the blog postings as the DAP leader who attended the meeting and joined the prayer session with the pastors, who were reportedly attending a mega-ceramah in Penang today.
Blogger Bigdog.com, who was a vocal critic of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi but a staunch supporter of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, carried a grainy photograph depicting a group of pastors standing in a circle, praying with their heads bowed.
The blogger described the action in the photo as a “secret pact between DAP and the pastors” at a hotel in Penang yesterday.
Another blogger Marahku, in a post with a screaming title ‘Agong under threat?The DAP wants to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia?’ lambasted the party for trying to amend the federal constitution to allow a Christian to be PM.
Islam’s position not questioned
Lim said no one would believe the allegations by the bloggers as DAP had never before challenged Islam as the official religion of the state.
He added that the party had never issued calls for the official religion of the country to be changed from Islam to Buddhism, Christianity or any other religion.
“These are the political games of desperados,” said Lim, adding that “in order to fish for more votes, they (Umno) are willing to do anything”.
The Penang CM also related the many incidents where Utusan had featured reports of him supposedly challenging the position of Islam.
He reminded journalists on the controversy where he was falsely accused of butchering a cow’s head on Hari Raya Qurban – a ritual reserved only for Muslims.
Lim also recalled the time when mosques were reportedly using his name instead of the Agong’s – a controversy which he vehemently denied and had since mysteriously died down.
He accused Utusan of continuing to report that the DAP-led Penang government has been disallowing the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday procession (Malidur Rasul), when it has been celebrated with greater pomp since it took power in 2008.
“One day they will accuse me of not being a Malaysian, that I was born outside the country… just like how some have accused (US President Barack) Obama,” he quipped.
“They had even accused me of wanting to replace the Agong. How can I ever want to be the Agong… they’ve never apologised to me for all their lies,” said Lim.
Articles ‘aimed at creating division’
Meanwhile, the organisers of the meeting, the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, together with partners Global Day of Prayer, Marketplace Penang and Penang Pastors Fellowship, have denied the claims.
In a statement issued yesterday evening, the organisations described the articles as being “unfounded and totally untrue, aimed at creating division and social disharmony in multi-ethnic society of Malaysia and appeared to be seditious.”
They said the so-called special convention was an “unashamedly ethical marketplace seminar” organised to discuss and address the issue of bribery and corruption and the Christians’ contribution in addressing such issues.
“It has nothing to do with political succession,” they explained.
#1 by monsterball on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 7:02 pm
Lim Guan Eng is the making of a brave and righteous politician.
What else do you expect UMNO B politics….besides race and religion?
#2 by Loh on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 7:08 pm
MCA youth Chief Wee Ka Siong has echoed LTL, the Deputy President in calling DAP racist. MCA is supposed to be a racist party but fails to perform its function to protect the Chinese community against the excess of its political partner. Yet MCA is shameless to call DAP racist when DAP ties hard to fight against racism, a function which MCA ought to take upon itself. Instead of confronting UMNO to stop its racist policies, MCA turned to call DAP racist based on the bastardized logic of Mamakthir, who has called all those who are against racism racists.
MCA now tries to fool and threaten Chinese community to vote for MCA so that 40 persons can hope to be elected and continue the dream to be appointed government positions. 6 million Chinese in the country are supposed to suffer so that 40 MCA persons can enjoy wealth and position minus the honour, they are view by UMNOputras as eunuchs and no more.
MCA will not be able to do anything to alleviate the discrimination against Chinese because UMNO would not change. Yet MCA will not be able to change the status quo no matter how hard it may try. MCA has the track record of a failed organization, and its performance would not change.
#3 by lee wee tak_ on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 8:27 pm
Utusan is hell bent on publishing lies and slander for political objectives. Utusan has as much credibility as a stripper has clothes on at the end of her performance.
The editors and journalists there should take a look at themselves and declare themselves lackeys and hatchmen instead. They are a disgrace to the family of brave journalists who inform, expose and analyse truths
#4 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 8:30 pm
The proposition that christians want to make Malaysia a Christian state is preposterous. Christians make up only 9% of population compared to Malay muslims 60%. Even amongst 9% Christians, one can’t say the majority are evangelical in zeal to spread the faith to others let alone to Muslims which they know proselytisation is illegal/prohibited by the Federal constitution. They’ll be happy being left alone with freedom to practise their faith and be allowed the Alkitab without desecration of the Holy Book by official stamping. Yet people who come out with preposterous and provovocative ideas to disrupt the harmony in a multi racial/cultural country has every incentive to do so in furtherance of their political agendas – precisely because the political leadership at the top is weak and has no will to put an end to such extremism. When leadership is weak a power vacuum is created which is immediately filled by the more assertive extremist voices. They seize the vacumn to take their extremist agenda to the next level, and the next…..for there is no official resistance, and that alone is an incentive to push the agenda further and further. One can tell the most preposterous thing and get away with it.
#5 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 8:38 pm
What Utusan has done is called Criminal Mischief. The police should be arresting the editors and the printers. If any real damaged is caused, its actually a felony.
#6 by drngsc on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 8:42 pm
Dear Kit,
What can we do about newspaper that blatantly fan the fires of racial and religious hatred? Looks like the strategy is to cause trouble, and remain in power by hook or by crook. They are playing with fire, front paging lies for truth.
Does anyone in the goumen love Malaysia? Is Utusan Melayu above the law?
This is going too far.
We must change the tenant at Putrajaya.
#7 by DAP man on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 9:44 pm
UMNO is going lower and lower by the day. Its acting insane and prepared to set the nation on fire for the sake of retaining power.
Could he explain how this country can ever become a Christian country?
#8 by negarawan on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 10:04 pm
UMNO is playing dirty racial and religious politics at every turn it makes. This is a show of desperation. 1Malaysia is nothing but a big lie from najip to mislead non-bumis. No point making police report against Utusan as PDRM and judiciary are in cahoots with UMNO. Otherwise they could have taken action against Utusan a long time ago. I pray that Allah will serve justice on corrupt and evil UMNO and all its cronies soon.
#9 by manusia ada akal on Saturday, 7 May 2011 - 10:32 pm
Keyakinan kepada mereka untuk membezakan permata dari kaca. Kini lain dulu lain. Formula lapuk akan membakar diri sendiri. Yakinlah…
#10 by cemerlang on Sunday, 8 May 2011 - 7:34 am
Who are we to challenge the 1true God ? We can challenge each other as human beings. But there is a higher power above us.